The Heart of Kings
by Haunted Leopard
Summary: It's a 4-day weekend for the Phantom Thieves. Ann gets the idea for all of them to go to Shizume City where her cousin, Tatara Totsuka, lives. What could possibly go wrong when the Phantom Thieves meet HOMRA? [Slight Age Change - K Project is moved down 5 years, Anna moved down 3 (Mikoto is 19, Izumo is 21, Tatara is 17), Akira x Futuba. Possible Mikoto x Akira x Futaba]
1. To Shizume City!

It was the Thursday before a long, four-day weekend for the Phantom Thieves. Currently, Akira, Morgana, Ann, Makoto, Ryuji, Yusuke, Makoto and Futaba were all hanging out in the attic above Leblanc, trying to figure out what to do for those four days. There were no Mementos requests and no Palace to go through. It wasn't beach weather either. The seven of them sit in silence, trying to think of what to do. Ryuji and Akira started to play with cards as Futaba was on her laptop, strewn across Akira's lap. Morgana was partially asleep on the table while Yusuke decided to try to draw the sleeping cat. Ann and Makoto had been talking when the blonde female shoots up to her feet, garnering everyone's attention.

"I GOT IT!" Ann exclaims. "Let's go to Shizume City! I have a cousin who lives there!"

"Shizume City? Isn't that home to that infamous gang HOMRA?" Makoto asks, frowning a bit.

"Eh, we'll be fine. We ARE the Phantom Thieves!" Ryuji says, dismissing Makoto's concern.

"For once, I'm in agreement with Ryuji. Well, give your cousin a call Lady Ann!" Morgana says. The blonde nods and pulls her phone out of her pocket and dials her cousin's number. She walks a little bit away from her friends as she waits for her cousin to answer the phone. Upon hearing her cousin answer, she gives a very enthusiastic greeting.

**~Same Time in HOMRA~**

Tatara was just chilling at the bar, braiding Anna's hair, or rather attempting to braid her hair. He was also just talking Izumo's ear off, excitedly explaining that once he finished high school, he was going to help Izumo out with his bar. After all, this was his last year in high school. In the middle of talking, his phone goes off, startling him. Stopping the braiding, Tatara looks over at his phone and beams upon seeing the caller ID. He picks it up and answers.

"Hello Ann-chan!" Tatara greets.

"Hi Tata-kun! It's been a long time yeah?" Ann greets happily.

"Indeed! So how have you been Ann-chan?" Tatara asks, putting the phone between his ear and shoulder. He goes back to braiding.

"I've been pretty great as of late. So you know how there is a four-day weekend coming up, right? Well my friends and I were wondering if we could come see you in Shizume City," Ann explains.

"Oh that would be great! I would love to meet your friends! I also have some friends I'd like you to meet as well! How many friends would be coming?"

"Well, there would be six of us plus a cat. One of my friends has a cat but he can't leave him at home."

"I don't think that would be an issue. Hold on Ann-chan. I'm going to put you on speaker so that my friends can help figure things out!" Tatara says. He had finished the somewhat poorly made braid and then sets his phone on the bar and puts it on speaker. "Ok Ann-chan, you're on speaker now!"

"Alright! Hello Tata-kun's friends!" Ann says.

"Tata-kun? That's an interesting nickname. Anyways, nice to meet you Ann-chan. I am Izumo Kusanagi, one of Tatara's friends," Izumo says.

"Nice to meet you Izumo-san. And yeah, I call Tatara Tata-kun since he's my cousin," Ann chuckles.

"Tatara has a cousin?" Anna asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You bet Anna. Her name is Ann Takamaki. Anyways, Ann-chan, want to explain everything to Izumo-kun?" Tatara asks.

"And our other friend Mikoto Suoh. He hasn't spoken but he's listening," Izumo adds on.

"Sure! So as I said to Tata-kun, my friends and I were planning to come up to Shizume City to come visit for the four-day weekend," Ann repeats.

"And let me guess Tatara, you wanted to ask if your cousin and her friends could stay in HOMRA?" Izumo asks.

"Yup! I could host some people but I can only hold two," Tatara asks.

"How many?" Mikoto's deep voice calls out.

"Oh was that Mikoto-san? Well there will be six of us plus a cat," Ann answers.

"If you're fine with it Mikoto, we can hold four of them here. I'm fine with it," Izumo says.

"Yeah. It's fine," Mikoto grunts out.

"Then that settles it! Four of your friends will stay here in the HOMRA bar, and the other two will come with me! " Tatara says.

"Oh sweet! Thanks a bunch! I'll message you when we get on the train to Shizume tomorrow! See ya then!" Anna says.

"Bye Ann-chan!" Tatara says before hanging up.

**~ Back with the Phantom Thieves ~**

"Success! My cousin and his friends can house us during our stay!" Ann says as she walks back over to her friends.

"Oh that's great! We better ask Sojiro-san if he's okay with Futaba coming with us," Makoto says. She stands up and motions for everyone to go down the stairs with her. She leads the way and was glad to see there were no customers in at the moment. Makoto walks up to Sojiro. "Sojiro-san? We have a question to ask you."

"Alright, what's up?" Sojiro asks. He looks at the friends his adoptive daughter had made.

"For the four day weekend, we were planning to meet up with Ann's cousin in Shizume City and we'd like to bring Futaba with us. Is that alright with you?" Makoto explains. Sojiro looks to the youngest female in question.

"Are you alright with this Futaba?" Sojiro asks. He was concerned for Futaba.

"Yeah. I'll have Akira and the others to help me," Futaba answers. "I want to go."

"And don't worry about Akira and his parole. I will keep an eye on him and make it my duty as student council president to make sure he doesn't get into trouble," Makoto adds on. Sojiro sighs.

"Well, if you're all going to be with Futaba and she wants to go, who am I to say no?" Sojiro says. Futaba goes behind the bar and hugs Sojiro, causing the man to smile.

"Thank you Sojiro," Futaba says. Sojiro hugs back. The rest of the Phantom Thieves smile as they watch the tender moment between Sojiro and Futaba. After the hug breaks, Futaba joins Akira's side.

"Well, we should all get ready and get some sleep. Meet up by 9:45AM in the train station?" Ann says, having looked up train times to Shizume City. "I figured that 10AM would be a good time for everyone."

"Hell yeah! This is gonna be a great weekend!" Ryuji grins, fist pumping. Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke and Makoto say their goodbyes and take their leave, allowing for Akira and Futaba to pack. Futaba follows Akira back up into the attic. Futaba situates herself on the couch with her laptop and lets Akira go about packing. She watches her secretive boyfriend pack, taking note on what he was packing so she knew what to pack herself. Morgana was sitting on the table by the stairs as normal, giving reminders as to what Akira should pack. Eventually, the raven haired leader of the Phantom Thieves finishes and looks over at Futaba.

"Well, shall we go get your things packed and ready for the weekend?" Akira asks.

"I accept your quest Akira! Nyeheheh~" Futaba says, closing her laptop. She hops up and walks down the stairs, Akira following with Morgana in his usual bag. The two, well three counting Morgana, walk out of Leblanc and head over to the house that Sojiro and Futaba lived in. Going up to Futaba's room, Akira sits on Futaba's bed and Morgana hops out of the bag, curling up next to Akira. Futaba starts packing a bag, remembering what Akira had packed and packed the same. Akira gave reminders when noticing that his girlfriend had missed a few things.

"Come over here. I have a reward for you completing your quest," Akira says, motioning Futaba over when she finished. Futaba happily obliged and waits in front of her boyfriend.

"What is my reward?" Futaba asks.

"This," Akira says before pulling Futaba onto his lap. Chuckling softly upon hearing the younger girl squeak, he then places a sweet and gentle kiss on Futaba's lips. Futaba blushes but she kisses back, tentatively draping her arms around Akira's neck. The kiss was soft and gentle as Akira would let Futaba move the boundaries to where she needed them. After a few more gentle kisses, Akira pulls back and smiles at Futaba. "Acceptable reward?"

"Acceptable reward," Futaba answers quietly, her face still a light pink. Akira chuckles and ruffles Futaba's hair gently.

"I should head back to Leblanc. I'll swing by in the morning to make sure you're ready," Akira says, kissing Futaba's cheek.

"Actually... Can you unlock Leblanc and wait for me? I.. I wanna stay with you.." Futaba says, pressing her fingers together. Akira smiles.

"Sure thing, I'll see you soon," Akira smiles. He steals a quick kiss from Futaba and said girl gets off his lap so he and Morgana could get back to Leblanc. Akira exits Futaba's room with Morgana in the bag and he makes his way back to Leblanc. He nods to Sojiro before making his way upstairs to change into pajamas. Akira sits at the desk to make some infiltration tools as he knew they were running low on some of the useful ones like lockpicks. Morgana sat on his desk doing cat things while watching Akira make the lockpicks. Soon enough Sojiro called up to him, saying he was leaving for the night, and after a ding of a bell, a faint thud of a door closing and an even fainter click of the lock signaled that Sojiro was gone, Akira heads downstairs. He perches on a stool and waits for his girlfriend to appear. He didn't bother putting a light on as he could see in the dark fine with the help of his Thief's Vision. Akira spots Futaba coming up and he unlocks the door.

"Mission accomplished!" Futaba says with a whisper as Akira closes the door and locks it again. She lets Akira guide her up to the stairs since she was not as well versed in the layout in the dark as she would like to be. Setting her bag down once upstairs and setting her glasses on top of that, she flops onto Akira's bed, causing the male to chuckle softly. She scooches to the side and once Akira was laying down, she lays down next to him, using his chest as a pillow.

"Good night Futaba," Akira whispers, pressing a kiss to Futaba's head.

"Good night Akira," Futaba whispers back. The two completely settle down and drift off into a very pleasant and much needed sleep.

Upon the next morning and Akira's alarm going off, the two lovers get out of bed and Akira shuffles down to the bathroom to change, thus allowing Futaba to change upstairs. Akira sees that Sojiro was in and would have to wait for Sojiro to not be in the area in order for Futaba to come down without it being suspicious. After all, his and Futaba's relationship was still secret to the man. Sitting at the counter, Akira watches Sojiro's movements and eventually the man ducks into the bathroom. Akira sends a message that the coast was clear for her to come down and he opens the door to make it seem like Futaba had entered. Futaba had managed to make it down the stairs pretty quietly and pops a squat on a stool before Sojiro returned.

"Good morning Futaba. I see you're awake and ready," Sojiro says to the girl. He then looks at Akira. "And you behave, we don't need you to go messin' up your parole."

"Don't worry about that Sojiro! Makoto will keep a sharp eye on him and so will I!" Futaba says. Sojiro had disappeared momentarily to get curry for Futaba and Akira.

"Alright. Now eat up you two. You'll have to leave soon if you want to catch your train I would imagine," Sojiro says, setting the plates down in front of the two. Akira and Futaba thank him before eating their food quickly enough without choking it down. Once they had eaten their food, the duo plus Morgana head to the train station to meet up with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. They get there at 9:40AM, only waiting on Ryuji to arrive, who gets there at precisely at 9:45AM. Makoto, who bought the tickets ahead of time, passes the tickets out and the others pay Makoto back for their tickets. They all get on the train and get comfy, Ann texting Tatara that they would be in Shizume in about two hours.


	2. The Thieves Meet HOMRA

Tatara was very excited that morning. After he made his apartment look nice, he heads on over to the bar to help Izumo make the place look nice. Just as Tatara got into the bar, he received Ann's text and he smiles even more. Cleaning up the bar wasn't too hard since Izumo kept it as orderly as he could, given that it was the base of operations for HOMRA. When Mikoto and Anna came down the stairs, Tatara gives a jovial greeting which was returned with a grunt from Mikoto while a soft greeting was given by Anna.

"So what time do we need to be at the train station Tatara?" Izumo asks the excited blonde.

"Noon!" Tatara answers. "Oh I'm so happy to see my cousin again and to meet her friends!"

"It'll be interesting to see what kind of friends your cousin has. Your cousin seems a lot like you from that phone call," Izumo comments.

"Ann-chan? Oh yeah, she's always been happy and cheerful like me. Only difference is that she has more of a temper than I do," Tatara says.

"What's her last name again?"

"Takamaki. She's a part-time model and is really good at it!"

"Aaahhh that's why that name sounds familiar. It was bothering me all of last night why her name seemed familiar."

"Tatara's cousin is a model?" Anna's soft voice speaks up. Tatara turns and smiles at the small albino girl.

"Yup! Ann-chan is really pretty!" Tatara answers. "Are you excited to meet her and her friends?"

"Yeah," Anna nods. She walks over to the bar with Mikoto, getting on a stool next to Mikoto. Izumo disappears into the kitchen for a few moments before coming back out with breakfast for the two. After breakfast was finished and the bar cleaned, the four relax in the bar untill 11:30AM. At 11:30AM, the four head out to the train station, walking since it about a half hour walk from the bar. As they drew nearer to the train station, Tatara seemed to get even more excited if it was even possible. Izumo, Mikoto and Anna waited outside the train station while Tatara went inside to gather Ann and her friends. It wasn't very long after Tatara got inside that the train arrived. The blonde male patiently waited for his cousin to get out of the train, figuring that they were waiting for the crowd to move past them first. Spotting blonde pigtails, Tatara grins and runs over to them.

"ANN-CHAN!" Tatara shouts as he envelops his cousin in a big hug, taking the girl by surprise. However, Ann recovers quickly enough and hugs back.

"Tata-kun!" Ann says happily, grinning as she hugs her cousin tightly.

"Oh wow, you can see the family resemblance," Makoto says.

"Takamaki genes must be really good then," Futaba comments. The cousins part from the hug.

"Guys, this is my cousin, Tatara Totsuka. And these are my friends. I'll wait to introduce them properly if your friends are here," Ann says.

"Oh yes! They're outside, this way!" Tatara says with a bright smile. He leads the group out of the train station to where his friends were currently waiting for them. "These are my friends - Izumo Kusanagi, Mikoto Suoh and Anna Kushina! Guys, this is Ann-chan and her friends!"

"Hello! As Tata-kun said, I'm Ann. These are my friends Akira Kurusu, Futaba Sakura, Makoto Nijima, Ryuji Sakamoto, Yusuke Kitagawa and the cat is Morgana!" Ann says, gesturing to each of her friends in turn.

"Nice to meet you all. All I ask is that you keep my bar in a relatively neat manner," Izumo says. Anna steps out a bit from Mikoto and approaches Akira.

"Can I pet Morgana?" Anna asks softly. Ann was currently doing her best to not squeal and hug Anna as she found the small girl adorable. Akira looks to Morgana for confirmation. Morgana nods and Akira lifts Morgana out of his bag and holds him before squatting.

"He's fine with it. So, go right ahead," Akira smiles. Anna actually smiles and she gently pets Morgana, who of course starts purring.

"So soft..." Anna whispers. "May I hold him?" she asks. Morgana gives a happy meow in response and Akira carefully transfers the cat into Anna's arms. Anna happily holds Morgana, petting him. Normally, Morgana wouldn't allow this but hey, a cute little girl was giving him attention. Once Akira was certain that Anna had a secure grip on Morgana, he stands up straight.

"Well, let's head back, shall we?" Izumo says. With a confirmation from everyone, they all head back towards the bar. Additionally, they figure out the living arrangements for while the Phantom Thieves were there. Akira, Futaba, Makoto and Ryuji would stay at the bar while Yusuke and Ann would stay with Tatara. After the half hour walk back to the bar, Tatara, Ann and Yusuke head to Tatara's apartment so less stuff would be cluttering the bar. Izumo leads the other four upstairs. "There's only three spare rooms but one of them is a crash room for some of our friends. So I hope you don't mind sharing."

"That won't be an issue Kusanagi-san," Makoto says.

"Call me Izumo and drop the honorifics. You're essentially one of Tatara's friends so no need to be formal," Izumo says, amused at how polite Makoto was.

"Very well. But it won't be issue as I said before. Thank you very much," Makoto says with a smile.

"Alright. Mikoto, Anna, Morgana and myself will be downstairs," Izumo says starting to head back downstairs. He pauses and looks at Akira. "And you, have made Anna very happy so you'll probably be one of her new favorite people," he says before continuing his way down. Akira blinks but he chuckles softly.

"I'm surprised Morgana is allowing that but at the same time, I'm not," Ryuji says.

"So how do we want to split this up?" Makoto asks. Futaba immediately clings to Akira.

"I'm sharing with Akira," Futaba says. Akira chuckles and pats Futaba on the head.

"Well, that settles that I believe," Akira says. He peeks into the three rooms, two of them had separate beds and one had a slightly larger singular bed. "I think one of the rooms with separate beds is the crash room. Futaba and I will take this one with the singular bed."

"Works with me! Yo Makoto, which room should we share and which bed ya want?" Ryuji says, looking at the older female. Makoto pokes her head into the other two rooms and picks the slightly cleaner of the two.

"This one. And I'll take the left bed," Makoto says, stepping inside. She sets her bag on the bed and Ryuji follows suit, but on the right bed. Akira and Futaba enter the room with the singular bed and place their bags next to the bed and look around the room. It was a very nice room surprisingly. Once the four were all set, they head back downstairs to where their hosts were chilling. Morgana at this point had left Anna's lap and was sitting on a table nearby.

"So how do you all know Ann?" Izumo asks them curiously.

"I'm in Ann's class, Ryuji is the same year and Makoto is the student council president. Yusuke we ran into at some art exhibit and he wanted to paint Ann. And Futaba is my girlfriend, who happens to be the daughter of the guy who's housing me," Akira says.

"Housing you? Are you orphaned or something?" Izumo asks, arching an eyebrow.

"He transferred to Shujin and is staying with a family friend," Makoto answers quickly. They didn't need these people to know that Akira was a falsely accused criminal. Mikoto quirked an eyebrow at how Makoto answered instead of Akira. He wasn't going to question it but it was kinda suspicious.

"Wee'rreeee baaaccck~" Ann chimes as she, Tatara and Yusuke enter the HOMRA bar. "What did we miss?"

"Izumo just asked us how we knew you," Ryuji answers.

"Oh! Well I assume you answered as I told Tatara," Ann says.

"So how do you know these guys Tatara?" Ryuji asks. Tatara chuckles and rubs the back of his neck.

"Well, Mikoto and Izumo were the tough kids at my high school and well, they seemed really cool and I hung around them. I knew that Mikoto was going to do great things and he already has done some great things!" Tatara says.

"Even after getting beat up, he wouldn't stop following us around," Izumo says. Ann gives a disappointed yet playful look to Tatara.

"But how did you meet Anna?" Futaba asks, currently still glued to Akira's side. Anna kinda looks down and the three red clansmen look at one another before Mikoto sighs.

"Saved her from a bunch of assholes," Mikoto rumbled out.

"And well, Mikoto and I kinda adopted her," Izumo says. "And no, we're not dating."

"Anna is HOMRA's little princess!" Tatara says with a smile. Anna looks up and looks at the various reactions.

"Speaking of HOMRA, is it true that you guys are a gang?" Yusuke inquires.

"Yeah. But we don't really go after innocent people," Izumo answers. "So no need to worry about trouble unless we run into Scepter 4. Occasional skirmishes, but that's with the other members of our gang, not so much us."

"Oh speaking of Scepter 4, isn't today one of those full out skirmishes?" Tatara asks.

"Yeah. You and Anna stay here," Mikoto says.

"We also ask that you guys stay out of this as you're all high school students and not apart of this gang," Izumo says with a smile.

"Don't worry, we'll stay out of that. We definitely don't need to get into more trouble," Makoto says, giving Akira a glance. Akira just ignores it for the time being.

"What time will that be?" Futaba asks curiously.

"Later at night, as for the meantime, do whatever you for the rest of the day. Tatara knows when he needs to be back," Izumo says.

"Alright! If you guys are ready, let's go!" Tatara says to his cousin and her friends. After Morgana gets into Akira's bag, they head out of the HOMRA bar, leaving Mikoto, Anna and Izumo alone.

**~ That Night ~**

After a long and fun day out in Shizume, the Phantom Thieves gathered at the HOMRA bar at quarter to ten. When they arrived, they were surprised to see the various members of HOMRA there - some their age, some around Mikoto's age, some older like around Izumo's age. The only females in the bar were Anna, Ann, Makoto and Futaba. The Thieves could all feel the power radiating off of HOMRA and Akira, with a quiet "I see it", activates his Thief's Vision. He was confused as to why all of these people, minus his friends and Anna had this.. red glow around them. This red glow was not the same red as he would often see powerful Shadows with, however. He also noticed that Anna had a constantly changing color glow around her. He deactivates his Thief's Vision before anyone could notice the faint lightening of his dark grey eyes.

"Alright HOMRA, let's move out! And don't mind Tatara's guests. Tatara, you're in charge," Izumo says. Upon hearing Izumo's words, the red clan heads out with loud shouts and the power seems to increase tenfold as they all leave. When it was just the Thieves, Tatara and Anna, everyone settles down though Akira stayed standing as he watches Tatara. The others notice their leader's intense gaze upon Tatara and it's only when Anna tugs on his sleeve that Tatara notices.

"Hmm? Oh! Akira, did you need something?" Tatara asks with a smile.

"Got a question - you guys aren't a normal gang are you. There's something off," Akira says. Tatara rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

"That obvious?" Tatara asks.

"No, I'm just very observant," Akira says with a small smirk. Futaba jabs him in the side.

"No need to be so smug," Futaba mutters.

"Well I suppose I should probably tell you," Tatara says. "Get comfy cause it's a long one!" Once everyone was seated and comfortable, Tatara begins the long story about the Dresden Slate, Kings and clans. He tells them about how Mikoto is the Red King and how each clan has a different power, with HOMRA's being something like a fire. Tatara makes a butterfly using his Aura and has it fly around the room, the Thieves and Anna watching with fascination.

"That's pretty neat dude! Like damn!" Ryuji says. Anna takes that moment then to hold up one of her marbles and looks at each of the Phantom Thieves.

"You also hold a power..." Anna says softly. Ann blinks.

"How did you guess that?" Ann asks, looking at the small child.

"Ah yes, Anna is something we call a Strain. She has powers despite not having a King," Tatara says before explaining Anna's powers.

"Well, you're right about us having power but I think it's only fair that Mikoto and Izumo know about ours as well," Yusuke says.

"I agree. We will explain but we'd like to do so when Mikoto and Izumo get back from their skirmish," Makoto says. Tatara nods in understanding. The group then just chills, idling on their phones and making light conversations. Futaba at one point goes to fetch her laptop and returns next to Akira, laying across his lap. As the clock nears midnight, the door swings open, revealing Mikoto and Izumo. The two notice a different air in the bar and look at everyone. Akira just has a huge shit eating grin on his face when Izumo and Mikoto look at him.

"Welcome Red King Mikoto Suoh~ I think it's time we appropriately introduce ourselves~"


	3. And HOMRA meet the Phantom Thieves

Akira's words had caught Mikoto and Izumo off guard. Both immediately look from the messy black haired male to Tatara who gave them a sheepish smile. The two figure out that Tatara had given into telling his cousin's friends about who they really were. Izumo and Mikoto each grab a cigarette and light them up before taking a seat and getting comfy. After Mikoto takes a long drag and lets out the smoke, he looks at Akira.

"Alright then, introduce yourselves," Mikoto rumbles out. Akira smirks at hearing them.

"May I humbly present you the Phantom Thieves of Heart!" Akira says. Izumo nearly choked on air upon hearing Akira's claim.

"Wait, YOU guys are the Phantom Thieves?" Izumo asks, shocked.

"Yup! You four are the only ones outside this group who knows our true identities!" Ann says, grinning.

"How do we know you're not lying?" Izumo asks, frowning.

"I saw it," Anna answers softly. She was now sitting next to Mikoto, despite the smoke.

"If Anna says it's true then I suppose it has to be true.." Izumo hums out.

"How did you figure us out?" Mikoto asks, golden eyes still locked on Akira.

"Essentially a third eye if you will," Akira answers casually. It was the best way for him to explain the Thief's Vision.

"So how do you do it? Changing people's hearts with your power?" Tatara asks, curiosity shining in his brown eyes.

"Akira we should wait til the morning to explain that," Morgana speaks up. The Thieves nod to what Morgana was saying, which confused the Red clansmen for the time being.

"It would be easier to show you come morning," Makoto answers. "After all, we all could use a good night's rest."

"Fair enough. Though this should be interesting.. Yet another world we get to find out about," Izumo muses.

"Alrighty! Breakfast and then we get to see this new world of yours first thing in the morning!" Tatara says. "Let's go Ann-chan and Yusuke!"

"See you all in the morning!" Ann chirps before following her cousin out of the bar, Yusuke right behind her. After the three left, Izumo gets up and locks the bar, the rest of the Thieves already moving upstairs to get ready for bed. Anna walks over to Izumo and the two head up the stairs, to also get ready for bed, leaving Mikoto alone. The Red King enjoys the silence and takes his time smoking his cigarette as he goes through the information that he just learned. He wondered if he would be a target of the Thieves or if maybe Reisi would be. He sighs and after finishing up his cigarette, he burns it out before turning off the light and heading up the stairs to his room.

When morning came, Akira was very happy to have Futaba still asleep in his arms. He watches his girlfriend sleep, ignoring Morgana. The cat huffs before heading downstairs to get attention from Anna until Lady Ann returned. Akira then smelt breakfast start to waft up the stairs and he smiles before gently nudging Futaba awake so that they could go get food. Futaba groans as she wakes up. Her hand shoots out and she finds her glasses and puts them on her face.

"Morning already..?" Futaba grumbles as she sits up.

"Yup. Won't be Sojiro's curry but it smells good," Akira says, getting up. He slips on his glasses and starts to head down the stairs, Futaba following him sleepily. The two were not surprised to see Izumo, Anna and Makoto awake already. Morgana was in Anna's lap, soaking up the attention he was getting from the cute girl. Ryuji was the next to stumble down, almost tripping down the last few steps. He grunts out a greeting and takes a seat at the bar. Mikoto was the last and he comes down just at Tatara, Ann and Yusuke waltz on in. After a tasty breakfast and idle chatter, the mood turned more serious.

"Alright! So! We get to see how you guys do it right?" Tatara asks excitedly.

"Provided we can find a target since Mementos is not here," Makoto answers.

"We speak the name of the target into an app we have called the Metaverse Navigator," Yusuke adds on. Akira pulls his up.

"Got mine up and running," Akira says.

"And when you say target, you mean someone who might have a twisted heart?" Izumo asks.

"Basically," Futaba answers.

"Mikoto Suoh," Mikoto grunts out, surprising some of the people there.

"Target not found," a cold robotic voice says. A few sighs of relief were heard.

"Reisi Munakata?" Izumo speaks up next.

"Target not found," the voice says.

"Was that another King?" Ryuji asks, arching an eyebrow.

"It was. Mikoto's rival and the fourth and blue King," Tatara answers. "You think there could be a King who has a twisted heart?"

"Most definitely," Izumo nods. "But I'm glad it's not Mikoto."

"Me too," Anna says quietly. Just then, the door opens again, revealing Yata coming into the bar. Anna waves at Yata, who waves back.

"What's going on?" Yata asks, arching an eyebrow. He avoids eye contact with Ann, Futaba and Makoto as he looks at everyone. Tatara fills Yata in on what happened the previous night and what is going on. The Thieves decided to trust Tatara's judgement on telling Yata since neither Izumo nor Mikoto were stopping him. Yata goes slack-jawed upon hearing that the guests were THE Phantom Thieves.

"So Yata, got any ideas for who might be a target?" Ryuji asks, looking at the male. The skateboarder thinks about it for a moment.

"Dunno the dude's name but the Green King of JUNGLE might have one," Yata suggests. "Those guys are a bunch of punks!" he scowls lightly.

"Well that's not gonna help much unless we can figure out a way to get his name," Ann frowns.

"Doesn't JUNGLE have that app or something?" Izumo asks.

"Oh yeah they do," Yata says. A slightly sinister laugh is then heard from the orange haired girl who was rubbing her hands.

"Leave that to me~ Nyehehehe~" Futaba says before running up the stairs to get her laptop and comes back down. She immediately gets to work after sitting on Akira's lap. The messy haired ravenette just let this happen, knowing he was stuck until Futaba was finished. The bar fell quiet, faint chatter off to the side as Futaba clacked away. The more progress that Futaba made, the more the girl grinned. JUNGLE was actually putting up a fight against Futaba's hacking but eventually, her amazing hacking skills triumphed, even though JUNGLE had basically techno-magic. "And done! Nagare Hisui! "

"Target found," the voice from Akira's app says, startling a few people.

"Wait, you just hacked JUNGLE?" Yata asks, shocked. "The stupid monkey and I tried to do that years ago and got our asses handed to us!"

"Well clearly you guys were just noobs," Futaba says, sticking her tongue out at Yata before going back to her screen. She continues typing, trying to see if she could get any other information about Nagare that would be useful.

"Hmm... I wonder if we could get an audience with the Gold King to inquire about the Green King.." Izumo hums out.

"Oh! Mikoto! You should go see the Gold King and take Akira with you!" Tatara says.

"That's actually a good idea," Izumo hums out.

"Yeah... Might have to do that since I can't get anything else out of them through this," Futaba huffs.

"So who should go besides Mikoto and our leader?" Yusukes asks.

"Well Futaba should probably tag along since she did the hacking," Ryuji says.

"Fiiiinneee I'll go... Even though there's a lot of people around..." Futaba huffs.

"I can also go since I did promise Sojiro-san that I would keep an eye on Akira, even though I know he won't cause any trouble," Makoto says.

"That won't be necessary Makoto. I will go with Mikoto, Akira and Futaba. You won't have anything to worry about. Also, it should be balanced out between Clansmen and Thieves," Izumo says.

"I see your point Izumo. Thank you very much," Makoto says, smiling.

"Why would you need to keep an eye on Akira?" Tatara asks, tilting his head curiously. Makoto froze upon realizing that she let some information slip. She sends an apologetic glance to Akira who waves it off.

"I was falsely accused of assault. Drunk guy forcing himself on a woman and he tripped when I pulled him back," Akira says.

"Well if you were falsely accused, who gives a damn?" Mikoto grumbles out.

"We technically are a gang so, you fit right on in with us," Izumo chuckles.

"Yeah! Even if you're worried about people messin' with Akira, with Mr. Mikoto around, they won't fuck with him if they know what's good for them!" Yata says, proud of his King.

"Well, then I think it's settled then! Akira, Futaba, Mikoto and Izumo will go see this Gold King and try to get information about Nagare Hisui!" Ann says. With a game plan, Akira and Futaba head up to get dressed since they were in pajamas. Once the two came back down and ready, they follow Izumo and Mikoto out of the bar and start making their way towards Mihashira Tower where the Gold King lived. It was a quiet walk but a comfortable one. When Mihashira Tower came into view, Futaba and Akira were impressed at the size of it, causing Izumo to chuckle. Mikoto and Izumo enter the building first, Akira and Futaba following close behind, the lone female clinging to Akira as people in gold bunny masks appear and surround them.

"Third and Red King Mikoto Suoh. What brings you here?" one of the masked men questions.

"Got some questions for the Gold King," Mikoto answers as he lights up a smoke.

"You have two people here who are not clansmen. Why are they with you?" Another one questions.

"They're the reason we have questions. It's rather important that we speak to the Gold King," Izumo answers. The masked people look at one another and one goes off to see if their King would see this group. The next 15 minutes were excruciating for Akira and Futaba as they hoped this would work out. The masked figure that left had returned and has the rest stand down as the Gold King would see the group. Mikoto, Izumo, Akira and Futaba follow the masked man into the elevator that would bring them to where the Gold King was waiting. The elevator dings and the doors slide open.

"The Gold King will see you, but make it quick," the masked figure says. The group of four leave the elevator and go to where the masked figure directed them to. The group comes across the Gold King and their surroundings were immediately turned to look like space as planets were now hurtling their way. Mikoto just stood and watched, his red Aura flaring up and burning the planets before they could even hit them all.

"Is that how he _normally_ greets people...?" Futaba asks, sweatdropping.

"Not usually but it was probably a test to see if we are who we claim we are," Izumo hums out.

"What do you want Third King Mikoto? You do not usually come to me," the Gold King calls out.

"Got some questions for ya," Mikoto answers and steps aside to reveal Akira and Futaba.

"And who are you two?" the old looking man questions.

"I'm Akira Kurusu, and this is Futaba Sakura. We come seeking your help for information," Akira says coolly.

"And why should I, Daikaku Kokujōji the Gold and Second King, assist you?" Daikaku questions, narrowing his eyes.

"Because Nagare Hisui has a Palace and we need to steal his heart!" Futaba blurts out.

"What on EARTH are you talking about?" Daikaku says, flabbergasted by the female's statement.

"We're part of the Phantom Thieves and we found out that Nagare Hisui, the Fifth and Green King, has a Palace. We just need enough information to go into the Metaverse and steal his distorted desire before he does anything horrible," Akira explains. Daikaku watches the two as he thinks about what he was just told and events that have happened within the past few weeks. He sighs.

"Very well.. What you're claiming... And with some things that have happened.. I suppose I can believe you."


	4. Welcome to the Metaverse HOMRA!

Relief flooded through Akira's and Futaba's veins upon hearing that the Gold King would help them with Nagare Hisui. The two Phantom Thieves walk closer to Daikaku when it was okay to do so, Izumo following and Mikoto reluctantly following as well. There was a slight awkward silence as no one knew what to say to start this conversation. Akira and Futaba hadn't expected to get this far in all honesty.

"What were the words you needed from The Gold King, you two?" Izumo asks, looking at the two Thieves.

"Ah yes, we need two more code words to locate Nagare's Palace. We need a location and how he views the location" Akira answers.

"Well, Nagare has already attempted to attack this very tower and take the Dresden Slate from under my control," Daikaku hums out. "Perhaps this tower then?"

"What's the name of this tower, sir?" Futaba asks politely as she pulls out her phone and opens up her app. "Nagare Hisui."

"Candidate found," the voice of the Nav rings out.

"Mihashira Tower," Daikaku says, looking at the phone.

"Candidate found," the voice says in response.

"Now for the final code word..." Akira says. "You said this Nagare attacked you before?"

"Yes. He desires to grant everyone the power of the Dresden Slate. He wishes to unleash the entirety of the Dresden Slate and create a new era of humanity," the Gold King answers.

"...Rebel base," Mikoto grunts out.

"Result found," the voice says. Surprise appears on Akira's and Futaba's faces and they look at Mikoto. Izumo grins, before clapping Mikoto on the shoulder.

"Nice job Mikoto!" Izumo says.

"Well, there you have it. I have three questions for you... Phantom Thieves," Daikaku says, his gaze hardening on the two non-clansmen. Futaba subconsciously steps closer to Akira and tries to hide herself behind her boyfriend.

"And what might those be, Gold King?" Akira asks, arching an eyebrow at the elderly Japanese man.

"First - what will happen to Nagare when you steal his so called heart? Second - do you need anything else from me to assist you with Nagare? And third - do you plan on joining HOMRA at all? That last one is merely curiosity," the Gold King asks, putting up a finger with each question. Nobody seemed to notice a pair of golden eyes on Daikaku when the third question was asked.

"Nagare will simply confess his wrongdoings to you, most likely, and will stop trying to accomplish this new era. As for something else, is there a location we could hang around in to enter the Palace? And for the last thing - hadn't even thought about it," Akira answers, Futaba relaxing a bit.

"There is. Sotaro Taira, the Rabbit that brought you here, will show you," Daikaku answers.

"Thank you very much," Akira says, bowing to the Gold King. Futaba copies Akira while Izumo just bows his head. Mikoto did nothing. Soon enough Sotaro enters the chamber and motions for the four to follow him. They all pile into the elevator and Sotaro brings them to the seventh floor of the tower.

"Will you be expecting anyone else to join you?" Sotaro asks Akira, ignoring Izumo and Mikoto.

"Yup! Look for a female with short brown hair, red hair and introduces herself as Makoto Niijima. She'll be with a group," Akira answers.

"Very well," Sotaro says before turning to look at Izumo and Mikoto. "And will any of your clansmen be accompanying the rest of these... Thieves?"

"Most likely. It will just be Yata, Anna and Tatara," Izumo answers. With a nod, Sotaro leaves the group of four. Futaba had sent a text message to the group chat to get their butts to the Mihashira Tower in the elevator ride. Mikoto pulls out a cigarette and steps a bit off to the side as he lights up. He may be smoking indoors, but he wouldn't smoke near Akira and Futaba. "You really can't go without smoking one of those throughout the day, can you?"

"I waited til we weren't in the presence of the Rabbits," Mikoto grumbles out. Futaba giggles lightly.

"Akira, he's like a grumpier version of Sojiro!" Futaba chirps. Akira chuckles lightly.

"A much younger and grumpier version that is," Akira says.

"Ah right, you guys haven't seen Mikoto fight. He's pretty happy then," Izumo comments. The blonde talks with Akira and Futaba while they wait for the rest of the odd group to join them. Mikoto for the most part just listened and smoked. Not that he would admit it to these two, but he was intrigued by them and their lives as Phantom Thieves. Depending on how this whole Nagare Hisui debacle panned out, Mikoto was thinking of maybe offering a place in HOMRA for the Thieves if they so desired. The redhead knew that he didn't have to worry about them being rejected as their whole thing was about stopping twisted desires. Just as Mikoto finishes up his cigarette, burning it with his Aura, Sotaro had brought the rest of the Thieves and the three clansmen. With a bow, Sotaro leaves the group.

"Alright! Let's go kick some fuckin' ass!" Ryuji says, grinning widely.

"And since we promised you guys that we would show you how we do it, you get to come with us into the Metaverse!" Ann chirps.

"Everyone ready?" Akira asks. With a nod or a grunt of affirmative from everyone, the familiar warping, or unfamiliar to the clansmen, brings everyone into the Metaverse. When the warping stopped, they were in a small, cement room with a few bunk beds, a table and a map of the surrounding area. There was a metal door with a large wheel for a handle. Anna had taken a marble out to look around at her brand new surroundings. Yata had IMMEDIATELY averted his eyes upon seeing Ann in her skintight red catsuit.

"Oh wow Ann-chan! You should see if you can wear something like that for a photo shoot! It really suits you!" Tatara beams.

"Huh? We're already seen as threats? That's bizarre-" Ann says.

"That's a first! But wait, how does he know we're here?" Ryuji asks, eyebrows furrowing.

"Did you forget that I hacked them Skull?" Futaba, or Oracle now, asks.

"Oh yeah.. I forgot you did that Oracle," Skull chuckles.

"Skull? Oracle? What's with the funny names?" Yata asks.

"Code names so our identities aren't revealed," Skull says. "Like you know, I'm Skull, and she's Oracle. We have Panther, Queen, Fox, Mona and then our glorious leader Joker!"

"Alright Joker, as usual, we'll follow your lead!" Mona says, causing the clansmen to jump in surprise. Mikoto didn't jump but there was surprise on his face.

"He talks...?" Mikoto asks.

"Duh! You just couldn't understand me since you had never been here before!" Mona huffs. "After all, I was once a human!"

"Anyways Joker, whenever you're ready and done zoning out in the corner over there, let us know," Fox says.

"Is that normal...?" Tatara asks.

"Yup. But whatever it is that he does, he usually comes back stronger and with new Personas!" Panther chirps.

"The hell is a Persona?" Yata asks, furrowing his eyebrows. Oracle just grins mischievously.

"You'll just have to wait and see~ Nyehehehehehe~" the orange haired female says.

"...He's behind a blue jail door. A small blonde girl had opened the door for him and he waltzed right on in," Anna comments quietly.

"Huh? A jail door? Interesting... I wonder what that was about..." Queen frowns. "But at least he's not just zoning out."

"Well, we're not waiting for much longer now," Izumo says as Joker seemingly turns around and approaches them.

"Oh! Joker! You know how we have code names, should they have any?" Panther asks. Joker thinks and then shakes his head.

"Nah. They won't need them. Now let's go. Panther, Fox and Skull - you're with me up in the front. Mona, Queen, bring up the rear. Oracle, stay with the clansmen in the middle," Joker orders. Yata looked to Mikoto to see if his King was going to go with this and upon seeing Mikoto not making a move to butt heads, the Vanguard accepted this plan. Joker opens the door and holds it open as everyone else files out into hallway that went to the left and right. As the door swings shut behind Joker, a group of eight Shadows with the JUNGLE helmets covering their heads surrounds the group.

"Shit! What the hell are those? They look like JUNGLE but they ain't JUNGLE!" Yata yelps.

"Crap! We got ambushed right out the gate by the Shadows! HOMRA, stand back!" Oracle calls out, immediately beginning her scanning.

"Hell Biker!" Joker commands as he rips his mask off. The clansmen watch as blue flames form a figure with a white skull on a motorcycle. With rev of engines, sudden flames engulf the eight Shadows. A few drop, allowing Joker to run in and slash one on the floor. The Thieves leap into action to help Joker take down the Shadows to get their situation turned around quickly. Mikoto noticed another lone Shadow approach him and Anna. His hands are soon engulfed in his red Aura and he pummels the Shadow, effectively burning it up to a crisp. Oracle notices.

"Guys, their red Aura seems to be effective here!" Oracle calls out.

"AWE SWEET!" Skull and Yata shout excitedly. After a quick battle, Mona and Panther quickly heal anyone who got hurt.

"Well, looks like we don't have to move in a large group and worry about them getting hurt," Fox comments.

"We could split up but the only issue is there's only one of me, Fox," Oracle comments dryly. Anna walks up to Oracle and gently tugs on her hand. She speaks only when she gets Oracle's attention.

"I can help with seeing things," Anna says quietly.

"Well! I stand corrected! Fox actually had a good idea for once," the orange haired female says.

"Well, Joker, since you're the apparent leader of this sort of thing, how do you wish to split us up, if you wanna do that?" Izumo asks.

"Hmmm... Mona, you'll lead the other group. Oracle, you'll be the nav for my group while Anna will be Mona's nav. Panther and Fox are with me while Queen and Skull are with Mona. As for the clansmen... Mikoto and Tatara with me, leaving Izumo and Yata with Mona's group," Joker decides.

"Alright! And don't worry about getting into contact with either group. We can all check in with each other easily while in the Metaverse. Just leave the communicating between me and Oracle!" Mona says.

"Works with me! Let's go explore this place!" Tatara says. Mikoto squats to Anna's height and looks at her.

"Will you be okay with Yata and Izumo?" the Red King asks. Anna nods.

"Yeah. Yata, Izumo and the others will keep me safe. Keep Tatara safe, alright Mikoto?" Anna answers quietly. Mikoto snorts.

"Been saving his ass day one," Mikoto grumbles as he pats Anna on the head. He stands up and walks back over. "Let's go," he grunts out to Joker. The two groups split and head down different ends of the hallway, starting the quickest Palace run the Thieves will have ever done.


End file.
